Supply-Side Philanthropy: Building on the Impulse to Give
When Volodymyr Slobodonyak, an owner of a small print house in Cervonohrad, a small coal mining town in Western Ukraine, returned home from a seminar in Kiev on social entrepreneurship, he immediately approached Ilona Gudvoka, director of a local nonprofit, with a business proposition. What if they launched a new business whose profits could support her non-government organization (NGO), Stumochuk, which serves 170 people with intellectual disabilities and their family members? Gudvoka readily agreed to the concept, and with help from USAID’s Strengthening Civil Society Organizations Project (USAID/UCAN), the Social Company was born.
More than half of the Social Company's staff is comprised of mothers of children with special needs who are often single heads of households and struggling to make ends meet. Children at Strumochok's day care center pitch in on easier tasks and hand out advertising flyers on the streets. "Our kids develop mentally in a different way, so we have to engage them in a non-traditional manner, which requires special attention, patience, and care," explained Gudkova.
Gradually, Slobodnyak began giving the Social Company small and simple orders that came into his print house–silk-screening and placing logos and pictures on products such as souvenir cups, t-shirts, or key chains–which freed his operation to focus on complex orders that required more expertise.
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Strumochok Director Ilona Gudkova models a full-body apron and coffee mug displaying a St. Valentine's greeting both of which are produced and made-to-order at Social Company.
Photo Credit: Halyna Kruk |
With coaching, mentoring and a start-up grant from ISC, the Social Company netted $3,250 in its first year (the average annual salary in Ukraine is $4,800), which supported Strumochok’s activities and expenses. The money also helped the NGO launch awareness campaigns and a walkathon.
Across Ukraine, USAID/UCAN operates on a number of fronts to stimulate the supply side of philanthropy. The project provides extensive support to nonprofits to help them deliver exceptional services to their constituents and shore up sources of funding for long-term sustainability. The project also works with government, businesses, and individuals to encourage philanthropy in Ukraine, where resources are often scarce and a strong tradition of giving has not yet been established. In 2006, the American Chamber of Commerce joined the project in providing grants to social entrepreneurs like the Social Company. To date, 27 social enterprises in Ukraine have been jointly funded.
The partnership between Gudkova and Slobodanyak also received attention from USAID’s Corporate Philanthropy: Supporting Good Practice and Transparency project, which promotes corporate social responsibility to help stimulate social projects, workplace giving, charity donations, and volunteering. Both principals were invited to speak at one of the project’s Business Breakfasts promoting corporate philanthropy to demonstrate how a business can add value to the work of a nonprofit.
Launched in 2007, the Foundation for Ukraine, a UCAN legacy organization founded to take over philanthropy activities, will draw on and develop resources to support initiatives that improve the quality of life in Ukraine. As for the Social Company, "Our goal is to never stop. We want to keep our children occupied, to have society accept them so that they're not reduced to being simply 'customers' of state services, but people who contribute in their small way to society," says Gordova.
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